LIBERTARIAN

ENTERPRISE

Voting Never Brought Freedom to Anyone

There is concern in the halls of government and the media that the
ongoing decline in voter participation reflects apathy. More likely, I
think, voters are figuring out how the system really works.

All people act in ways they perceive to be in their best interest.
Politics is about trying to convince voters it is in their best
interest to vote for candidates who claim to represent their
interests.

Is it working? For the voters best interests?

Libertarian philosophy operates on the belief that most of the
American people know that freedom is good for them — including
freedom from social and economic engineering imposed on them by swarms
of government agents sent to harass them and to eat out their
substance.

Since merely voting for more freedom and less government has
never produced anything of the sort, it is small wonder that this
method is losing credibility and being abandoned by a liberty-starved
populace.

I remember that it was the promise of less government that sent Ronald
Reagan to the White House with the overwhelming support of the people.
The promise of fundamental reforms sent people into the streets in
1992. In 1994 the promise of a contract with the American people, that
a new congress would reduce government, finally gave both houses to
the Republicans.

In every case the American people were lied to, and the voters know
it.

What could astute potential voters be told now that would convince
them they can make any real difference at the ballot box?

Even putting aside some major concerns: that vote-counting computers
are not isolated from outside communication and possible control; that
even court-ordered recounts of a computer-tabulated election are
not verified with a manual count; that tens of thousands of
unvoted ballots are mailed out and never accounted for; that the
justification for automation is speed — yet we still wait days and
weeks for final results; that legislation prevents simple
verification of the computer program with a manual comparison
after the election; that many potential voter's views are not
represented on a ballot tailored to provide special advantages to
parties that have been institutionalized as part of the government
(crippling competition before gets established); ... even with all
that aside, we have a populace that instinctively knows they are
irrelevant to the process.

As an advocate of freedom, I have found that the political process
allows an effective method of spreading the freedom message. For the
few short months that people may be paying attention, libertarians
have a chance to help them understand new questions that should be
asked.

Rather than, "Would local control of public education be preferable?"
Ask, "Do you support separation of Child and State?"

Rather than, "Which form of income tax is better?" Ask, "Do you
believe the government has a right to your income?"

Instead of, "Should we increase defense funding?" Ask, "Do you believe
we would reduce threats to the United States by no longer trying to
socially or economically control people around the world?"

Rather than, "How do we provide healthcare for children of the poor?"
Ask, "How much less would healthcare cost if the industry were
deregulated?"

Instead of, "How do you propose to get handguns out of the hands of
criminals?" Ask, "How do you plan to eliminate victim disarmament laws
so people can protect themselves?"

The issues are influenced by the questions asked — and by exactly how
the questions are worded — by the media, the pollsters and the
politicians.

This influence is now, however, being steadily displaced as
individuals use the internet to ask their own questions, and seek
answers from people who have first-hand knowledge.

Influence of government and traditional media has been dwindling to
the point where Libertarians will soon be begged to participate
in National Presidential Debates — so someone will watch them!

But by then, the freedom movement will have already taken to the
streets with growing numbers of individuals demanding to be left
alone, regardless of any vote totals — whether accurate or not.

Ernest Hancock
Maricopa County Libertarian Party of Arizona — Chairman
Libertarian Candidate United States House of Representatives — District #4

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